This invention relates to a buckle for use, as an example, on a pet collar. More particularly, this invention relates to a buckle which is released simply by squeezing the sides of a male plug member which protrude through the sides of a female socket. Specifically, this invention relates to such a buckle which is made out of metal and provides more strength and endurance than other side release buckles.
Side release buckles which act to latch two ends of a belt, pet collar, or the like are known in the art. Such buckles take on various forms, but typically most are made of plastic having a male plug member which fits within a female socket. The socket is open at its sides to receive lugs carried at the ends of flexible arms of the plug member. Thus, as the plug is inserted into the socket, the arms flex inwardly until the lugs are allowed to snap through the open sides of the socket. As such, the buckle is engaged, but may be released by squeezing the arms together, at the location of the lugs which are exposed through the side openings, and then pulling the plug out of the socket.
Although these plastic buckles are relatively inexpensive, they offer somewhat limited strength. As such, a force applied to the buckle, as by a lunging pet, may cause the buckle to fail prematurely. Moreover, the life of such buckles can be somewhat limited in that after many flexures of the arms, such may break, rendering the buckle unusable.
Attempts to make such buckles out of metal to provide additional strength, durability and longevity have not met with complete success. In one known metallic side release buckle, two lugs are positioned at the end of the plug and two longitudinally spaced coil springs bias the lugs laterally outwardly away from each other to engage side openings in the socket. However, such does not provide any more stability than the plastic buckles in that the lugs tend to unevenly move upon forces being applied thereto; that is, due to the spaced springs, the lugs may tend to oscillate rather than move laterally upon a force being applied thereto. Moreover, this buckle requires very tedious assembly in order to properly position the springs to properly bias the lugs.
As a result, the need exists for a side release buckle which will not be susceptible to accidental release and premature failure, which is durable and not susceptible fatigue failure, and which is easy to produce and assemble.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a side release buckle for a collar or the like which is durable yet easy to produce and assemble.
It is another objection of the present invention to provide a buckle, as above, which is made of a metallic material.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a buckle, as above, which will not accidentally release upon typically encountered forces.
These and other objects of the present invention, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, a buckle made in accordance with the present invention includes a plug portion having a housing and a socket portion having an open end and opposed side openings. The plug portion includes a first arm having one end pivotally connected to the housing and extending out of the housing, and a second arm having one end pivotally connected to the housing and extending out of the housing. A spring in the housing engages the arms to bias the other ends thereof away from each other. A lug surface is formed at the other end of each arm. When the arms are inserted through the open end of the socket portion, the lug surfaces will be received through the side openings of the socket portion to attach the plug portion to the socket portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a collar includes a strap having first and second ends. A buckle includes a plug portion attached to the first end and a socket portion attached to the second end. The socket portion includes an open end and opposed side openings. The plug portion includes two pivotable arms having a lug formed at their outer ends, and a spring member engaging the inner ends of the arms to bias the outer ends of the arms away from each other. When the arms are inserted through the open end of the socket portion, the lugs are received through the side openings of the socket portion to close the buckle to attach the first and second ends of the strap.
Preferred exemplary buckles incorporating the concepts of the present invention are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.